We are halfway through the 2024-25 NHL season. The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the outside of the playoffs looking in but are only four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card playoff spot. The Penguins have lost seven of their last seven games since New Year’s Eve, and over this stretch, Penguins goalies have only saved 86.36% of the shots they have faced, the worst rate in the NHL over that stretch. This exemplifies a season-long issue with the Penguins having some of the worst goaltending in the league.
With the Penguins having the third-worst save percentage on the season, they will want to stabilize their goaltending situation by the trade deadline to make a push for the playoffs, especially considering they missed the playoffs last season and only have a few chances left at getting Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang back in the playoffs.
Related: Penguins’ Inconsistent Play Having Expected Results
While the Penguins’ general manager, Kyle Dubas, has expressed a desire to make this team younger, this will not be feasible if he wants to find stability in the net. He may have to look for a more short-term fix, considering Joel Blomqvist continues to develop in the American Hockey League (AHL) and could be the guy for this team down the road.
Why The Penguins Need a Goaltending Change
I’ve already told you where the Penguins are in terms of team save percentage, but to further illustrate how much the Penguins have struggled, let’s talk goals and expected goals. The Penguins have allowed 145 expected goals this season but have given up 165 goals, 15 goals above expected. This is the second-worst expected goal-to-goal against differential in the NHL.
This deviation between goals allowed and expected goals can only come from having two struggling goalies. Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic rank among the bottom 10 goalies in the NHL in all significant statistical goaltending categories, as seen in the table below.
| Penguins Goalies | Save Percentage | Goals Against Average | Goals Saved Above Expected | High-Danger Save Percentage |
| Tristan Jarry | .886 (T50th of 58) | 3.32 (51st of 58) | -8.48 (53rd of 58) | .767 (56th of 58) |
| Alex Nedeljkovic | .886 (T50th of 58) | 3.40 (52nd of 58) | -8.35 (52nd of 58) | 0.772 (51st of 58) |
As you can see, neither of these guys has been reliable, and I am sure some of this can be blamed on the Penguins’ defence for allowing the seventh-most high-danger chances and expected goals per game. However, for the season, the Penguins have 51.46% of the high-danger chances and have an expected goal share of 49.98%, well above their actual goal share of 44.82%.
With the way the Penguins are built, they will play fast. They will create many chances but will allow a bunch as well. This style of play typically is not conducive for goalies to have great numbers. However, the Penguins don’t need an elite goalie to get them into the playoffs; they need one who will make a few timely saves and keep them in games to give them a chance to win. With that being said, let’s discuss two goalies who could be on the market before the upcoming trade deadline that could fit the needs of this Penguins team.
John Gibson – Anaheim Ducks
John Gibson has been and will continue to be the most talked about goalie, with the potential to change teams this season due to Lukas Dostal’s emergence with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are a young rebuilding team. Gibson is 31 years old and is signed for two more seasons after this one at 6.4 million dollars per season.
Dostal is only 24 and is on a contract that expires at the end of the season, which means he’ll be due for a pay raise. By no means do the Ducks have to move Gibson at the deadline for any cap space reasons, but it just makes no sense for them to keep Gibson and pay him as the most expensive backup goalie in the NHL, especially going into next season when you would expect the Ducks would want to take another step closer to being competitive and could use that money to plug other holes in their roster.
Now, for the Penguins, Gibson would be a stabilizing option. This season, he has a .907 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against average despite the Ducks allowing the most expected goals and scoring chances per game. While Gibson wouldn’t be a game-changer, he would be reliable enough to get this team in the playoffs.
As I mentioned, the Penguins aren’t going to find an elite goalie during the season, but they need someone to keep them in games. Gibson has been doing that for the Ducks all season long, and who knows, getting the chance to play with all-time greats like Crosby and Malkin could unlock something in Gibson that gets him back to the form where he made the NHL all-star game four seasons in a row, but that might be wishful thinking.
Marc-Andre Fleury – Minnesota Wild
Speaking of wishful thinking, how incredible would a Marc-Andre Fleury and Pittsburgh reunion be? Admittedly, this may be far-fetched. However, the Minnesota Wild are second in the Central Division and have the fourth most points in the NHL. They look like genuine cup contenders, led by their Vezina Trophy candidate, Filip Gustavsson.
While the Wild have some of the best defending and goaltending numbers in the NHL, they struggle offensively. They are in the league’s bottom half in goals scored per game and rank 27th in expected goals per game. This team needs offensive help to make some noise in the playoffs. The problem is they only have $12,500 in cap space. This means they will likely have to make moves with an addition-by-subtraction philosophy.
Fluery is on a contract that expires at the end of this season. He is 40 years old and has said this will be his last season in the NHL. He has a .910 save percentage, a 2.54 goals-against average and has saved +3.20 goals above expected. Despite excellent numbers, Fleury has only made 14 starts this season in spot starts behind Gustavsson, which could be a factor in Fleury deciding to waive his no-movement clause if he wants to play more games in the back half of the season.
Fleury is as consistent as they come. He would be a massive upgrade in the Penguins net for the remainder of the season. Fluery being open to a reunion with the Penguins is unclear, but in this wishful scenario, you would think he may want one last dance with the team he won three Stanley Cups with.
With the trade deadline still two months away, it is still unclear what the complete picture of the goalie trade market looks like. Still, the Penguins need a change between the pipes, which needs to happen sooner rather than later so that the Penguins aren’t desperate days before the deadline, making desperate calls to the San Jose Sharks for someone like Alex Georgiev.
Stats via NaturalStatTrick
